PACK FOR SUCCESS

Packing carefully for business travel ensures that you-and your clothing-will arrive unrumpled. Whether you’re traveling for one night or many, these procedures will help keep your clothes in their best shape.

Take just as much care in packing dress shirts as you did in having them fitted. The most important considerations here are minimizing wrinkles and building collar support. Lay the shirt out on a flat surface and fold sleeves under at the shoulder. Next, reduce wrinkling by using a “long fold”-rather than folding it exactly in half, fold the shirt below the waist. Once the shirt is folded and smoothed down, create adequate collar support by filling the collar with rolled socks. Use plastic bags or tissue paper from the dry cleaners to separate shirts. This reduces friction between items and helps prevent wrinkling.

Keep the suit coat fresh by first turning one sleeve of the suit coat inside out. Slide the other sleeve inside, matching shoulders and gently shaking the fabric into place. The suit can now be folded in half lengthwise. If necessary, the suit may then be folded widthwise, just above the lowest button.

Trousers may simply be folded in half, after aligning the sides. Hold the trousers by the hem and fold along the creases. Continue to match the creases above the knee, and fold in half, maintaining the crease while placing in luggage.